The Council’s much hyped plan to introduce a “Boris Bikes” style cycle hire scheme into York has been quietly abandoned.

The Council has realised that such a scheme would lose a lot of money.

A similar (commercial) scheme in the City 10 years ago failed after only a few months.

As was pointed out when the Council scheme was originally proposed, the lack of sustained all year round demand makes such schemes impractical.

The low cost of a new or second hand cycle is such that most regular users will chose to own a bike while tourists and visitors find that the compact nature of the city is more suited to walking.

Several cycle shops do offer hire bikes but these are mainly aimed at visitors wanting to explore the countryside around York. They involve picking up and returning the cycle to a shop.